he was a Republican appointee
Wall Street's bad dream
Consumers are already twitchy in America, where bank failures are rising and the nation’s deposit-insurance fund faces a potential shortfall. The failure of Washington Mutual (WaMu), a troubled thrift, could at the worst wipe out as much as half of what remains in the fund, reckons Dick Bove of Ladenburg Thalmann, a boutique investment bank. WaMu was said this week to be seeking a buyer.
No less worrying are the cracks appearing in money-market funds. Seen by small investors as utterly safe, these have seen their assets swell to more than $3.5 trillion in the crisis. But this week Reserve Primary became the first money fund in 14 years to “break the buck”—that is, to expose investors to losses through a reduction of its net asset value to under $1—after writing off almost $800m in debt issued by Lehman.
Any lasting loss of confidence in money funds would be hugely damaging. [...] Some analysts see a wave of corporate defaults coming. Moody’s, a rating agency, expects the junk-bond default rate, now 2.7%, will rise to 7.4% a year from now. Like many nightmares, this one feels as if it will never end.The Economist | 9.18.08
Second wave coming
Banks in Europe and the US will suffer a second wave of massive losses from the credit crunch over the next few months that could leave some fighting for survival with little access to additional funds, according to a report by credit rating agency Standard and Poor's.The Guardian/UK | 9.19.08
Graft scandal rocks Philippines bench
[Associate Justice Vicente] Roxas is the third CA justice to be dismissed by the Supreme Court. Associate Justice Demetrio Demetria was found guilty in 2001 of interceding in behalf of a suspected Chinese drug queen. In 2007, the SC dismissed Associate Justice Elvi John S. Asuncion after finding him guilty of "gross" ignorance of the law in relation to a labor case and for failure to resolve other cases within the prescribed period.
Charges of corruption have hounded the appellate court. Delays in hearings, failure to decide cases on time and questionable rulings allegedly for pecuniary gains have hurt the court’s credibility. The existence of a "mafia" in the bench is a favorite subject in legal circles.
Graft, unfortunately, has gnawed into the roots of the country’s judicial system. Weak and slow-moving is the criminal justice process. The national police, according to the Commission on Human Rights, is the principal violator of human liberties. The prosecution service is often incapable of pursuing airtight cases. The weaknesses of the courts have inspired popular battlecries like "justice delayed is justice denied" and "those who have less in life should have more in law." Life in most city, municipal and provincial jails is a throwback to the 18th century penal system.Manila Times | 9.19.08
Squibs
de Tocqueville was uncannily correctAds for ‘unfeasibly large breasts’ criticized
Blue chips now cheezy
Right-wingers tend to be 'Nervous Nellies'
Gold and oil go up then down
posted by Tom Nadeau at 5:37 AM
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